GVSU plans $77 million in 2013 construction projects, buys more land near Grand Rapids Medical Mile

Grand Valley State University's Board of Trustees,on Friday, Nov. 2, approved spending $1.2 million to buy seven properties near the Cook-DeVos Health Sciences building along the Medical Mile in Grand Rapids.Courtesy

HOLLAND, MI – Grand Valley State University plans to break ground next year on a new $55 million biology building and a $22 million expansion and renovation project at the James H. Zumberge Library on its Allendale campus.

The university's Board of Trustees on Friday, Nov. 2 also approved spending $1.2 million to purchase seven remaining properties near its downtown Grand Rapids Cook-DeVos Health Sciences building on the Medical Mile for future expansion of its health care programs.

Once the land acquisitions are completed, the university will have full ownership of the block bordered by Hastings and Trowbridge streets and Prospect and Lafayette avenues, north of the Gerald R. Ford Expressway.

The new 144,000-square-foot biology building, which still needs state approval, will be built west of Padnos Hall and Henry Hall. It will provide classrooms, teaching and research labs, and faculty offices.

“The project, in addition to meeting immediate teaching laboratory needs, will address long-term teaching and faculty offices needs at the Allendale campus,” GVSU Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning James Moyer said. “The facility will also support student and faculty research activities.”

About $30 million of the budget for the new building will come from the state and additional funding will be paid from university bonds and campus development funds, Moyer said.

The university has selected Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr and Huber to be the project architect and engineer, and Pioneer Construction as the construction manager. Construction is slated to begin in August of next year and completion is expected in time for the 2015-16 academic year, Moyer said.

The Zumberge project, which also needs state approval, calls for a complete renovation of the building, along with a 24,000-square-foot expansion on the building’s south side. The goal is to consolidate all major university administrative functions in the building by the time it opens in May 2014.

“The new facility will provide improved functionality and communications for the administration departments, along with multi-use conference rooms and shared break rooms,” Moyer said.

Zumberge already houses the university president’s office. Upon completion, the university will move its provost, human resources, finance, and news and information departments to the facility, which will be renamed Zumberge Hall. GVSU’s new Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons is scheduled to open next year.

The Zumberge renovation and expansion will be paid for through university bonds and campus development funds. No tuition increases will be needed to cover funding for both projects, university officials said.

GVSU last year spent $3.25 million to acquire two-thirds of the block bordered by Hastings, Trowbridge, Prospect and Lafayette, north of the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, for expansion of the university’s health care offerings. The seven remaining property owners in the block approached the university collectively, each offering to sell their respective property, university counsel Thomas Butcher said.

“They made us a very fair offer,” Butcher said.

Rockford Development Group will assist the university in acquiring the site for future development and will manage the properties in the meantime, Butcher said.

University officials say the Center for Health Sciences, which opened in 2003, is at capacity. About 5,000 students are enrolled in the university’s health programs, including nursing, physician assistant studies, and occupational and physical therapy.